Chapter 4, Part 1: This Will Be War
Beneath the Oklahoma sky, Josie agrees to a legal fight that will turn her family’s land into a battlefield.
Chapter 4 is now live: Family Secrets and Failing Memory
This week’s chapter picks up right where we left off—with Josie facing the consequences of filing for an emergency injunction against Weatherby Agricultural Services. The toxic sludge isn't just killing cattle. It's seeping into the water, the history, and the relationships that shaped her life.
We learn how deep the contamination goes
Josie finally hears from her mother—Senator Copeland—and the conversation is... not great
Pete’s memory is slipping, but his records might hold the truth
And Josie begins to uncover a family legacy that's more complicated than she ever imagined
There’s a line in this chapter that really stood out to me as I wrote it:
“Still finding ways to soil what should be sacred.”
Memory, legacy, and the quiet weight of generational harm rise through the cracks in this chapter.
🪶 New here?
Catch up on Chapters 1–3 here
Or start at the Prologue
And as always, shoutout to Dolly, the cattle dog with better instincts than most people.
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Now—on to the story!
Tuesday arrived gray and restless, the kind of overcast that made the chemical smell hang heavy in the air. Josie woke to her phone buzzing—Gabriel calling with news that made her stomach clench.
"Lab confirmed what we suspected,” he started right in, without pleasantries. She liked that. “Nitrate levels are off the charts. Concentrated livestock waste mixed with industrial additives—antibiotics, growth hormones, heavy metals from feed supplements."
She sat up in bed, instantly alert. Dolly raised her head from the foot of the bed, ears pricked at the tension in Josie's voice.
"And the pH levels suggest lime treatment to mask odors," Gabriel continued. "I've been tracking the source. Looking at satellite imagery, there's a massive cattle operation about fifteen miles north. Ten thousand head, maybe more. Their lagoon system is right at the watershed divide." His voice was tight with controlled anger. "This isn't fertilizer, Josie. It's toxic sludge."
"And how many sites?"
"Besides yours, at least a dozen documented across three states, probably more. Almost all near tribal lands, low-income communities, places with limited political representation." Gabriel's academic detachment cracked slightly. "They're poisoning people who can't fight back."
"What do you need from me?"
"Permission to include your samples in the emergency filing. Once we stop the contamination, we'll have time to build the full federal case."
Emergency injunction. The same legal tool used to stop oil spills and chemical disasters, now literally in her back yard.
"You have it."
"Josie." Gabriel's voice carried warning. "Once we file for the injunction, Weatherby will know exactly who provided evidence. They'll come hard."
Through the window, she watched Pete head toward the barn, moving with the steady purpose of someone following a routine perfected over decades. Dolly jumped down and padded to the window, alert to movement outside.
"They're already coming hard. Remember yesterday?"
"That was business. This will be war."
"Then we better win."
Gabriel was quiet, and she could almost hear him weighing the risks, calculating odds the way she'd been trained to assess mission parameters.
"I'll file the emergency petition this morning. EPA will expedite review given the contamination levels. Should have a hearing by Friday."
"The sooner, the better. I don't need any more dead cattle."
After they hung up, Josie stood at the window, watching Pete disappear into the barn, and wondered how many more peaceful mornings they had before everything changed.